Customer shot in second pub robbery

A pub customer was shot in the stomach during an attempted pub robbery by two men who had tried to raid another pub just 20 minutes earlier.

The men, who were carrying at least one gun, entered the Britannia in Bow Common Lane, east London, at 11.10pm last Thursday and demanded money from the licensee. The host refused to hand any over.

A 47-year-old man, who was drinking at the Britannia, was shot in the stomach at close range as he chased the attackers out of the pub.

Police said the gunmen had also tried to steal from another east London pub, the Railway Tavern on Commercial Road, at about 10.50pm that night.

They held four people inside the Railway Tavern at gunpoint but left empty handed after apparently being scared off by dogs. No-one was injured in this attack.

The 47-year-old man was in a critical condition in an east London Hospital as the Morning Advertiser went to press. Anyone with information on the robberies is urged to call 0208 345 4210.

Man charged with wounding at pub

A 23-year-old man has been charged with wounding following an incident at a Greater Manchester pub.

Christopher Ian Prece, of Bristowe Street, Clayton, appeared at Tameside Magistrates Court on Saturday and was remanded in custody.

Police had been called to the Gardener's Arms, Edge Lane, Droylsden, last Thursday. One man had reportedly suffered slash wounds to his head and was "bleeding quite heavily". He was treated at Tameside General Hospital for superficial injuries to his head.

Host was slapped by employee's mum

A female licensee was slapped across the face by the mother of a teenage pub worker who had been sent home for bad behaviour.

Host Joyce Lawrence was approached by Wendy Woolley, 39, who slapped her and hit her in the lower back, Huntingdon magistrates heard last week.

Woolley, of St Neots Road, Eltisley, admitted battering the licensee at the Leeds Arms in Eltisley, Cambridgeshire. Sentence was adjourned for reports.

Sylvia Cundell, prosecuting, said Woolley's 16-year-old son had been working in the pub kitchen but had been sent home because of his unsatisfactory conduct.

Woolley told police that she had gone to the Leeds Arms to confront the host, and admitted slapping her but denied any punching.

Man left unconscious in bottle attack

A man was left unconscious and had to spend a night in hospital following an assault at a Norwich nightclub.

The 26-year-old was drinking in the main bar of Time in the Riverside area at about 1am on Sunday 8 May when a man approached him and pushed a bottle into his face. The container did not smash.

The attacker is white and in his 20s. Anyone with information on the attack is urged to call PC David Jerman on 01953 424242.

Machete case sent to Court of Appeal

Two men who were sentenced to 12 years each after a man's hands were almost cut off in a machete and knife attack at a Birmingham pub have had their convictions referred to the Court of Appeal.

James McDaid, then 28, and Ronald Clarke, then 30, were convicted of grievous bodily harm at Worcester Crown Court in April 1997 following an attack at the Plough in Rubery, Birmingham, the previous February.

The independent Criminal Cases Review Commission, which investigates suspected miscarriages of justice in Britain, has referred the convictions back to the Court of Appeal after McDaid applied for a review of his case in February 2000. He had previously been refused leave to appeal in February 1998.

Clarke applied to the commission in March 2001 after also being refused leave to appeal in February 1998.